When you are in need of general contracting services it wise to vet a short list of the most qualified and best Houston contractors you can find that fit your project needs.
There are many different types of Houston contractors that provide a variety of general contracting services.
Their skills and qualifications vary as greatly as the different types of projects that they perform.
Generally speaking, Houston contractors provide project management leadership for owners of commercial and residential general contracting needs.
General contracting services facilitate labor, material and equipment to execute the completion of construction building projects.
Houston contractors have the ability to take on small improvement projects that require multiple trades up to major complex mega projects that require multiple engineers and construction companies.
Identifying the best contractor for your project requires the ability to match their expertise with the specifications of your project and your ability to recognize your project needs and what builder meets those needs.
We will share some relevant insights about Houston contractors to assist you in recognizing the different types of builders and their projects and the appropriate skills required to best execute these projects.
What Houston contractors do?
Houston contractors are trained, licensed and experienced professional construction project management services providers that serve their clients project needs.
They serve property owners who want construction improvements to their property and require different level of experience and professional services.
They build new buildings and provide remodeling services to existing properties.
They are normally associated with providing the management leadership and experienced knowledge for conveying construction results for ground up or modifications to building and property.
Most of all they are a professional service-based discipline much like the medical or legal profession that requires education, specialized training and many years of direct experience.
When a client hires a Houston contractor, they are expecting professional conduct, trusted advice and ethical guidance through the entire contracting process.
If your project is a kitchen remodel or a large office building, each project has specific experience required and personalized general contracting scope requirements.
To learn more about what contracts do, visit out link.
Learn about the different Houston contractors and their general contracting service skills
What are the different types of Houston contractors?
Houston contractor companies are different sizes of operations, organizational structures and experienced in types of contracting projects.
They can operate as a local single person (DBA) to the size of a worldwide multinational organization. They also specialize in different contracting market segments.
Residential Contractors – provide construction services to residential property owners. They build new houses as well as remodel existing homes.
- Home Builders – usually operate and function as general contractors. They facilitate labor, material and equipment to build residential houses. Although there are different types of house builders, they all operate using the general contracting model.
There are also a variety of house builders that serve different housing demands, such as production builders for affordable houses and custom home builders for one-of-a-kind dwellings.
- Home Remodeling Contractors – provide general contracting services to existing residential houses. House remodel contractors operate and function as general contractors, but there is home remodeling contractors that operate with employees instead of subcontractor labor. These are called self-performing contractors.
Remodelers offers a variety of services such as kitchen & bathroom remodeling, home additions and complete renovations needs. These experts can be self-performing or larger building companies.
- House Improvement Contractors – offer services associated with house product replacement such as roofs, windows and wood siding. These home improvement contractors work as independent self-performing tradesmen and as employees of large national companies.
These Houston contractors typically specialize in their trade service to the public. They may have product manufacturing alliances or purchase for general retail suppliers for the products that they install.
To learn more about the different types of residential general contractors visit our link.
Commercial General Contractors – offer construction management leadership to commercial property owners for new building contracting or commercial remodeling to existing buildings.
- Commercial General Contractors – are traditional general contractor companies that service commercial property owners and governmental agencies.
They normally are associated with larger projects like institutions, airports, public infrastructure and government projects.
The larger commercial general contractors are not the focus of this article but have a very defined niche in commercial construction. These contractors are generally larger firms with thousands of employees that support construction management required for the huge projects they manage.
- Commercial Contractors – are also general contractors that typically build new commercial properties.
They completely manage the contracting tasks required to build new commercial buildings. These can be large multifamily projects to retail strip centers.
They can also be firms that focus on specialty contracting such as office buildings or gas stations or restaurants.
The reason behind this is that these types of properties have special methods of building special construction needs like underground storage tanks for gas stations and exhaust systems and fire suppression for commercial kitchens.
- Commercial Remodeling Contractors – provide construction management services to remodel existing commercial properties.
Much like commercial contractors, they focus their service efforts on small to medium sized projects that are occupied by the public. These remodelers can provide design services or provide remodeling from prepared design documents.
To dive deeper into the differences of commercial general contractors by visiting our link.
What are general contracting services?
General contracting services represent the functions and operating procedures that Houston contractors follow in conducting and managing contracting services and construction management practices.
These services can be categorized in 2 construction service sections of operating a building project, construction management and administrative management.
- Construction Management Services – Construction management services normally take place on the contracting project.
They are directly involved in the day-to-day operations of managing the building activities onsite.
These services include project tasks scheduling, onsite safety monitoring, onsite quality & document controls and the verifying the execution of the defined scope of work and plan specifications.
The primary reasons for construction management other than organizing the project is to provide quality control, cost control and to expedite the completion.
The success of these general performance standards of these milestones are what separates the quality of these contractors.
- Administrative Management Services – Administrative management services are traditionally considered activities that can be back-office tasks.
These services include contractor & material procurement, insurance administration, cashflow management, accounts payable and general construction cost management services.
Administrative management services are the supporting business activities for the contracting activities. Although the administrative functions operate in conjunction with the construction management task, they are based upon the needs and progress of the building activities.
- Design to Build Construction Services – are services that some Houston contractors offer to owners that prefer to have the builder provide both the building design and construction accountability.
There are a number of reasons why this is an attractive service to certain owners. Owners might prefer the full responsibility that comes with the design build approach. Another common reason is that for some uniquely designed buildings it is difficult to prepare a fixed price contract.
Design build construction has many advantages over the conventional bid to build process. This process also is effective for unique major remodeling projects as well.
How do you hire a Houston contractor?
The process of hiring Houston contractors begins with clearly defining the general contracting services you need and carefully reviewing the websites of 3 select general contractors you feel will fit your contracting needs.
There are essential factors that an owner should identify in vetting the right general contractor for their needs.
These items include verifying that the Houston contractor is licensed by the state and carries the appropriate amount of insurance required.
Not every state requires the general contractor to be licensed, but in that event an owner should look for continued education certifications and substantial and quality accreditations.
These can be from respected builder associations and educational institutions. Maybe most importantly, the owner should look for testimonials and professional reviews from past clients, employees and vendors.
The process for selecting a contractor involves asking the contractor questions that increase your comfort level.
Its also helpful to look at one of their projects and discuss the details of their scope of work to better understand their building process and materials the intend to use.
Conclusion
Not all Houston contractors are the same or have the right skills and business acumen for your project needs.
General contracting is a professional service that is part art and part science. It takes years of direct experience and the specialized knowledge to serve their client’s best interest.
It is well worth your while to clearly understand your construction needs to identify and select the best Houston contractor for you.
